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Shades of Gray (episode)
Riker is infected with a deadly neurological virus. (Season finale) Summary The ''Enterprise''-D orbits an unexplored planet named Surata IV. An away team of Geordi La Forge and Will Riker are on the surface in an alien swamp, teeming with strange lifeforms. La Forge finds Riker sitting on a log, injured. Something has bitten his leg. La Forge, not taking any chances with alien biology, calls for the transporter. Transporter Chief O'Brien gets an alert signal from the biofilter in the transporter, as Riker's body has been infected with some type of unidentified microbes. Doctor Pulaski is summoned, as the chief medical officer must authorize any transportation of unfiltered biomaterial. Pulaski reluctantly uses the transporter, a rare occasion for her, to beam down and verify if it is safe to bring Riker aboard. She materializes and inspects Riker's wound. He complains of no pain, but of a numbness near the bite. La Forge hasn't had any luck finding what might've inflicted the wound. Pulaski beams them directly to sickbay. Two medical orderlies help Riker to the bed. He tries to shrug off their help, but when he takes a step his leg gives out. Captain Picard records a log entry detailing Riker's predicament. He chides Riker for putting his foot where it didn't belong, but Riker maintains he is just trying to keep the doctors busy. Pulski informs them the Riker's nervous system is being invaded by a microbe which combines elements of both a virus and a bacteria. She uses a medical scanner to illustrate the microbes bonding themselves to Riker's sciatic nerve and multiplying. They aren't damaging his nerves, just preventing them from functioning – and they are progressing towards his brain. Picard decides to send Data and La Forge to the surface to locate the source of the infection. Data protests at risking La Forge for the mission, but, using his android reflexes, prevents his human friend from being hurt. They find a parasitic thorn which uses all of the vines in the swamp to paralyze animal life. Data records significant fossil remains around the area of the vines, which judging by their fast motion attacking La Forge, are predatory in nature. When La Forge begins to cut off the stinger of one of the vine's thorns with his phaser, the entire swamp begins to move, and the vines close in on the away team. The officers call for emergency beamout just as more vines swing at them. The thorn sample is delivered to sickbay, and Data reports on the predatory nature of the vines to the Captain. Pulaski is hard at work analyzing the samples and Riker's condition, but is unable to find what in human nerves causes the microbes to thrive. Riker is continuing to grow more numb, but acts stoic when Picard expresses regret at Riker's condition. As Deanna Troi watches unseen, Riker even tries to cheer up the medical technicians with stories. Troi attempts to reach out to her imzadi, but Riker soon falls unconscious. Pulaski attempts to stabilize him, but estimates he will die within an hour. Memorable Quotes "There may be some residual memory loss. I just want to make sure you still know who you are." "Of course I know who I am. I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS ''Enterprise."'' "Delighted you're feeling better, Captain. The admiral and I were worried about you." "Sir, I do not believe you have the authority to promote me to the rank of admiral." :- Dr. Pulaski, Riker, Picard, Data "My great-grandfather was once bitten by a rattlesnake. After three days of intense pain, the snake died." :- Riker Background Information *This episode is Star Trek's first clip show. The only other clip show made was in Act 8 of the DS9 finale, "What You Leave Behind". *This episode was written to save time and money as a result of the writers' strike of 1988. *This episode marks the final appearance of Diana Muldaur (Dr. Katherine Pulaski) on the series. *Besides clips from previous episode, Michael Dorn (Worf) does not appear in this episode. *This episode is thought to be one of the weakest ever made. It was described by its writer, Maurice Hurley as "terrible, just terrible". *This episode was shot in only three days, while most take at least a week. *Only three sets were used for the episode - the surface of Surata IV, sickbay, and the transporter room. Links and References Guest stars *Diana Muldaur as Katherine Pulaski *Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien Flashback appearances *Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher *Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar *Vaughn Armstrong as Korris ("Heart of Glory") *Merritt Butrick as T'Jon ("Symbiosis") *Richard Lineback as Romas ("Symbiosis") *Karen Montgomery as Beata ("Angel One") *Tracey Walter as Kayron ("The Last Outpost") *Jay Louden as Liator ("Justice") *Brenda Bakke as Rivan ("Justice") *Robert Schenkkan as Dexter Remmick ("Conspiracy") *Ray Reinhardt as Aaron ("Conspiracy") *Carolyn McCormick as Minuet ("11001001") *Abdul Salaam el Razzac as the bass player hologram ("11001001") *Richard Lavin as warrior in Riva's chorus ("Loud as a Whisper") References endorphin; hydrogen; nervous system; William Riker; Surata IV; Surata microbes; Deanna Troi; virus Timeline *2364 *2365 Category:TNG episodes de:Kraft der Träume es:Shades of Gray nl:Shades of Gray